Applied Linguistics

By Mr. Humberto Gallardo

EFL Teacher
BA Education
1. Two translators on a ship are talking.
"Can you swim?" asks one.
"No" says the other, "but I can shout for help in nine
languages.“

2. If the translator is a man, HE translates.

If the translator is a woman, SHE translates.
If the translator is a computer, IT translates.
If the translator is either a man or a woman, S/HE translates.
Whether the translator is a man, a woman or a computer,
S/H/IT translates.
 What is Human Language?
• Language is a highly elaborated signaling
system.
• We call the elements of this system ‘The
Features of the Language’.
- Some found only in Human Being.
- Others are similar to Animal’s.
• Another aspect of Human Language is that we
express THOUGHTS with WORDS.
• Another aspect is ‘The duality of patterning’
It enables us to use our language in a very economic
way for a virtually infinite production of linguistic units. 

How does this principle work?

Human languages > small, limited set of speech sounds

(consonants and vowels = phonemes) > capacity to
produce unlimited vocabulary (meaningful).
Displacement
• In contrast to other animals, humans have a
sense of the past and the future. For Example:
Gorillas. (do they speak about the future or
past? Experiences, parents? etc.).
Displacement is thus our ability to convey a
meaning that transcends the immediately
perceptible sphere of space and time.
Open-endedness

The ability to say things that have never been

said before, including the possibility to express
invented things or lies, is also a peculiar
feature of human language.
Stimulus-freedom
Is another aspect that distinguishes human
language from animal communication.
The honey-bee must perform its dance,

The woodchuck must cry out in order to warn

his fellows when it beholds an eagle.
Humans have the ability to say anything they like in any context.
This ability is only restricted in certain ceremonial contexts
such as church services, etc., where a fixed form is expected
to be followed. The possibility to violate this fixed linguistic
behavior is then the source of jokes.

eed om
lus-fr
Stimu
Language can be ICONIC, which means that there is
a direct correlation between form and meaning.

ICONIC = Visual Representation.

e.g. The length of a phrase could represent a length

of time the phrase refers to, like in “a long, long
time ago”.
Another example could be “onomatopoeia”.
The Human Vocal Tract…
An elaborated language requires a highly sophisticated speech
organ that will enable the speaker to produce the many
differentiated sounds. Only humans are endowed with a
speech organ of this complexity.
 What is LINGUISTICS?
Linguistics is the scientific inquiry into the human language with all
its aspects.
(Inquiry = a systematic investigation of a matter of public interest.)

As it studies al Language aspects it includes the theoretical and practical use of other Study
Areas derived from Linguistics:

• Phonetics: The study of the physical properties of sounds of Human Language.

• Phonology: the study of sounds.
• Morphology: the study of internal structures of words and how they can be modified.
• Syntax: the study of how words combine to form grammatical sentences.
• Semantics: the study of the meaning of words (lexical semantics) and fixed word
combination (phraseology) and how these combine to form the meaning of sentences.
• Pragmatics: the study of how utterances are used(literally, figuratively) in
communicative facts.
• Discourse Analysis: The analysis of language use in texts (spoken, written, signed).
Psicolinguistics… emerged in 1950s and 1960s as
a result of Chomskyan revolution.
Psycholinguistics is a branch of study which combines the
disciplines of psychology and linguistics. It is concerned with
the relationship between the human mind and the language
as it examines the processes that occur in brain while
producing and perceiving both written and spoken discourse.

What is more, it is interested in the ways of storing lexical items

and syntactic rules in mind, as well as the processes of
memory involved in perception and interpretation of texts.
Also, the processes of speaking and listening are analyzed,
along with language acquisition and language disorders.
 Sociolinguistics…
Sociolinguistics is a quickly developing branch of linguistics which
investigates the individual and social variation of language.
Some factors influencing the way people speak which are
investigated by sociolinguistics:
• Social Class
• Social Context
• Geographical Origins
• Ethnicity
• Nationality
• Gender
• Age
http://www.tlumaczenia-angielski.info/linguistics/sociolinguistics.htm?PHPSESSI
D=c6ebf0a8d25bde3f4c877f1f06b6e78a
Contrastive Linguistics…
Contrastive Analysis (CA) or Contrastive
Linguistics: "In the study of foreignlanguage
learning, the identification of points of
structural similarity and difference between
two languages“

Taken from: http://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1683824.html

Pragmatics…
How people comprehend and produce a
communicative act or speech act in a concrete
speech situation which is usually a conversation.
http://www.gxnu.edu.cn/Personal/szliu/definition.html
Applied Linguistics…
According to Longman Dictionary of Applied
Linguistics (1985) there are 2 definitions:

1. The study of Second or Foreign Language

learning and teaching.

2. The study of language and linguistics in relation

to practical problems, such as lexicography,
translation, speech pathology, etc.
More Definitions related…
Applied Linguistics uses information from
sociology, anthropology, and information
theory as well as from linguistics in order to
develop its own theoretical models of
language and language use, and then uses this
information and theory in practical areas such
as syllabus design, speech therapy, language
planning, literacy, bilingualism.
 What A.L. involves?
It involves:
a. What we know about language.
b. How it is learned.
c. How it is used.

The primary concern of Applied Linguistics has

been SLA theory, SL Pedagogy and
interrelationship of both areas.
Another Definition…
Applied Linguistics is a field that studies cases in
which language related disorders such as
speech of aphasia, schizophrenic and autistic
speakers and hemispherectomy patients in
hopes that a better view of how the brain
works when the language system of the
speaker breaks down or is dysfunctional is
uncovered.
Bonus: Language Disorders’ Definitions…
Aphasia: Partial and total language impairment in common use.
Schizophrenia: is a serious mental illness characterized by a
disintegration of the process of thinking and of emotional
responsiveness. It most commonly manifests as
auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre disillusion,
disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or
occupational dysfunction.
Autism: is a disorder of neutral development characterized by
impaired social interaction and communication, and by
restricted and repetitive behaviour.
Hemispherectomy: is a surgical procedure where one cerebral
hemisphere(half of the brain) is removed or disabled. 
Thank you
!